Rocketman (2019)

Jack and I loved this fanciful musical based on Elton John's life, with big production numbers and fantasy sequences, vetted and produced by John himself.

Taron Egerton (since I wrote about him in Kingsman: The Secret Service he's been in six features and some TV) masterfully does all his own singing--in fact he sang the Elton John song I'm Still Standing in the animated feature Sing (2016) which we didn't see. Bryce Dallas Howard (last blogged for Jurassic World) is almost unrecognizable as the chilly mother with black hair and freckles. And Jamie Bell (most recently in these pages for Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool) does the honors as John's songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. It's a big cast so I'll add only the young actors who play John when he was a boy named Reggie Dwight: first Matthew Illesley, making his debut, as primary school Reggie, and Kit Connor (this is not his first rodeo at age 15--he has been in several features and TV episodes) as young teen Reggie. Both boys sing in the movie, too.

The story of how this movie came to be is told in some detail in a fascinating Vulture article. The short version is that the studio was balking at making it R rated and John said he didn't live a "PG-13 rated life."

Screenwriter Lee Hall (last blogged for Victoria & Abdul) was attached from the beginning and eventually director Dexter Fletcher (Bohemian Rhapsody) stepped in. The Vulture article (and every other writer, including yours truly) compares Rocketman to Bohemian Rhapsody, because both are about flamboyant, gay, drug-using, costume-wearing, superstar, pop musicians born six months apart in the mid-1940s, with roots in England. But Bohemian Rhapsody is rated PG-13, so Freddy Mercury's drugs and promiscuity are barely mentioned, and Rocketman, which was made for an R rating, doesn't flinch at any of it. There are one or two slight anachronisms, but the filmmakers, including John, don't intend for it to be a documentary!

The wardrobe is by Julian Day (four nominations for Bohemian Rhapsody, many other credits, including three starring Egerton), many of which are based on or recreations of John's spectacular costumes by Bob Mackie and others.

I found an excellent Spotify playlist that includes Egerton's covers, Elton John's original tracks, and some remasters of John originals. The Egerton covers alone are on the Apple Music album. As far as I remember, all the songs are by John except Pinball Wizard, by Pete Townshend for The Who.

Critics and audiences are flying high on Rotten Tomatoes, averaging 89 and 87%, respectively. Go see it on a big screen so the sequins are in focus!

Late Night (2019)

As expected, Jack and I loved this comedy about an inexperienced, determined writer who lands a job on a talk show, helping to save it from cancellation.

Mindy Kaling (last blogged for acting in Ocean's Eight) makes her feature writing debut after penning dozens of TV shows and one TV movie, so it's no surprise that she shines in the role she created for herself, the smart, good-natured, and slightly naive Molly. As Katherine, the prickly host of the titular show, Emma Thompson (most recently in these pages for A Walk in the Woods) is wonderful, as always. And guess what? Kaling wrote the role of Katherine specifically for Thompson as well.

There are a bunch of great supporting actors, too numerous to mention.

Nisha Ganatra (new to me after directing a bunch of TV episodes and a few movies) is, like Kaling, a North American-born woman of Asian Indian descent, and she keeps the story moving.

Composer Lesley Barber's (last blogged for Manchester by the Sea) score can be streamed on YouTube and Apple Music.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences must have been too sleepy to stay up for Late Night, averaging 79 and 78%, respectively. But we liked it a whole lot.